Divergent Dendrimer Synthesis via the Passerini Three-Component Reaction and Olefin Cross-Metathesis

A Sequence-Defined ABC Dendritic Macromolecule with Amino Acid Peripheral Functionality via Iterative Chemoselective Reactions

Chemoselective reactions allow near-precision control over the polymer composition and topology to create sequence-controlled polymers with similar secondary and tertiary structures to those found in proteins. Dendrimers are recognized as well-defined macromolecules with the potential to mimic protein surface functionality due to the large number of functional groups available at its periphery with the internal structure acting as the support scaffold. Transitioning from using small-molecule dendrimers to dendritic macromolecules will not only allow retention of the high peripheral functionality but also provide an internal scaffold with a desired polymer composition within each generational layer. Here, we exemplify a systematic approach to creating a dendritic macromolecule with the placement of different polymer building blocks in precise locations within the internal structure and the placement of three different amino acid moieties clustered at the periphery. The synthesis of this ABC dendritic macromolecule was accomplished through iterative chemoselective reactions.

Non-isocyanate polyurethanes synthesized from terpenes using thiourea organocatalysis and thiol-ene-chemistry

The depletion of fossil resources as well as environmental concerns contribute to an increasing focus on finding more sustainable approaches for the synthesis of polymeric materials. In this work, a synthesis route towards non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) using renewable starting materials is presented. Based on the terpenes limonene and carvone as renewable resources, five-membered cyclic carbonates are synthesized and ring-opened with allylamine, using thiourea compounds as benign and efficient organocatalysts. Thus, five renewable AA monomers are obtained, bearing one or two urethane units. Taking advantage of the terminal double bonds of these AA monomers, step-growth thiol-ene polymerization is performed using different dithiols, to yield NIPUs with molecular weights of above 10 kDa under mild conditions. Variation of the dithiol and amine leads to polymers with different properties, with Mn of up to 31 kDa and Tg's ranging from 1 to 29 °C.

Synthesis of Passerini-3CR Polymers and Assembly into Cytocompatible Polymersomes

The versatility of the Passerini three component reaction (Passerini-3CR) is herein exploited for the synthesis of an amphiphilic diblock copolymer, which self-assembles into polymersomes. Carboxy-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether is reacted with AB-type bifunctional monomers and tert-butyl isocyanide in a single process via Passerini-3CR. The resultant diblock copolymer (P1) is obtained in good yield and molar mass dispersity and is well tolerated in model cell lines. The Passerini-3CR versatility and reproducibility are shown by the synthesis of P2, P3, and P4 copolymers. The ability of the Passerini P1 polymersomes to incorporate hydrophilic molecules is verified by loading doxorubicin hydrochloride in P1DOX polymersomes. The flexibility of the synthesis is further demonstrated by simple post-functionalization with a dye, Cyanine-5 (Cy5). The obtained P1-Cy5 polymersomes rapidly internalize in 2D cell monolayers and penetrate deep into 3D spheroids of MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer cells. P1-Cy5 polymersomes injected systemically in healthy mice are well tolerated and no visible adverse effects are seen under the conditions tested. These data demonstrate that new, biodegradable, biocompatible polymersomes having properties suitable for future use in drug delivery can be easily synthesized by the Passerini-3CR.

Synthesis and Encapsulation of Uniform Star-Shaped Block-Macromolecules

Linear uniform oligomers synthesized via a two-step iterative cycle are postmodified with uniform octaethylene glycol monomethyl ether and finally coupled via azide-alkyne cycloaddition to yield uniform star-shaped block macromolecules with a mass ranging from 10 to 14 kDa. Each of the molecules is carefully characterized by NMR, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) to underline their purity as well as their uniformity. The obtained star-shaped macromolecules are investigated in their ability to encapsulate dye molecules by carrying out qualitative solid-liquid phase transfer experiments.

The Hantzsch Reaction in Polymer Chemistry: From Synthetic Methods to Applications

The Hantzcsh reaction is a robust four-component reaction for the efficient generation of 1,4-dihydropyridine (1,4-DHP) derivatives. Recently, this reaction has been introduced into polymer chemistry in order to develop polymers having 1,4-DHP structures in the main and/or side chains. The 1,4-DHP groups confer new properties/functions to the polymers. This mini-review summarizes the recent studies on the development of new functional polymers by using the Hantzsch reaction. Several synthetic approaches, including polycondensation, post-polymerization modification (PPM), monomer to polymer strategy, and one-pot strategy are introduced; different applications (protein conjugation, formaldehyde detection, drug carrier, and anti-bacterial adhesion) of the resulting polymers are emphasized. Meanwhile, the future development of the Hantzsch reaction in exploring new functional polymers is also discussed.

Precision Aliphatic Polyesters via Cross-Metathesis Polymerization

Cross-metathesis (CM), a carbon-carbon bond transformation that features exceptional selectivity, reactivity and tolerance to functionalities, has been extensively investigated in organic chemistry. On the other hand, the use of CM in polymer synthesis is also growing in both scope and breadth, thus offering a wealth of opportunities for introducing a vast range of functionalities into polymer backbone so as to manipulate properties and expand applications. In this review, we propose the concept of "cross-metathesis polymerization" (CMP) referring to polymer synthesis via repetitive CM reaction and summarize emerging strategies for the precision synthesis of aliphatic polyesters via CMP based on the high CM tendency between acrylates and α- olefins. Due to the carbon-carbon bond-forming step-growth polymerization nature, CMP brings a new concept to polyester synthesis. This remarkable polymerization method possesses unique advantages such as mild condition, full conversion, fast kinetics, almost quantitative yield and extraordinary tolerance to functionalities. In particular, CMP provides the ability to regulate macromolecular architectures including linear, block, cyclic, star, graft, dendron, hyperbranched and dendrimer topologies. Ultimately, advanced polymeric materials with outstanding performances can be facially constructed based on these sophisticated macromolecular architectures.

Accelerated Chemoselective Reactions to Sequence-Controlled Heterolayered Dendrimers

Chemoselective reactions are a highly desirable approach to generate well-defined functional macromolecules. Their extraordinary efficiency and selectivity enable the development of flawless structures, such as dendrimers, with unprecedented structure-to-property capacity but with typically tedious synthetic protocols. Here we demonstrate the potency of chemoselective reactions to accomplish sequence-controlled heterolayered dendrimers. An accurate accelerated design of bis-MPA monomers with orthogonally complementary moieties and a wisely selected chemical toolbox generated highly complex monodisperse dendrimers through simplified protocols. The versatility of the strategy was proved by obtaining different dendritic families with different properties after altering the order of addition of the monomers. Moreover, we evaluated the feasibility of the one-pot approach toward these heterolayered dendrimers as proof-of-concept.

Covalent Tethering of Temperature Responsive pNIPAm onto TEMPO-Oxidized Cellulose Nanofibrils via Three-Component Passerini Reaction

A critical challenge in the application of functional cellulose fibrils is to perform efficient surface modification without disrupting the original properties. Three-component Passerini reaction (Passerini 3-CR) is regarded as an effective functionalization approach which can be carried out under mild and fast reaction condition. In this study, we investigated the application of Passerini 3-CR for the synthesis of thermoresponsive cellulose fibrils by covalently tethering poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) in aqueous condition at ambient temperature. The three components, a TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber bearing carboxylic acid moieties (TOCN-COOH), a functionalized polymer with aldehyde group (pNIPAm-COH) and a cyclohexyl isocyanide, were reacted in one pot resulting in 36% of grafting efficiency within 30 min. The chemical coupling was evidenced by improved aqueous dispersibility, which was further confirmed by FT-IR, TGA, UV-vis, and turbidity study. It was observed that the grafting efficiency is strongly dependent on the chain length of the polymer. Furthermore, AFM and X-ray diffraction measurements affirmed the suitability of the proposed method for chemical modification of cellulose nanofibers without significantly compromising the original morphology and structural integrity.

Convergent dendrimer synthesis by olefin metathesis and studies toward glycoconjugation

The synthesis of novel hyperbranched monodisperse linear dendrimers, based on 2,2-bis-(hydroxymethyl)-propionic acid (bis-MPA), has been achieved by convergent metathesis-mediated coupling between the alkene-terminated focal point of bis-MPA dendrons. On their surface, dendrimers present 4, 8 and 16 functional groups. Glycodendrimers exposing multiple saccharide moieties have also been obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of the use of metathesis for focal point coupling.

An Update on Isocyanide-Based Multicomponent Reactions in Polymer Science

Developments and progress in polymer science are often inspired by organic chemistry. In recent years, multicomponent reactions-especially the Passerini and Ugi reactions-have become very important tools for macromolecular design, mainly due to their modular character. In this review, the versatility of the Passerini and Ugi reactions in polymer science is highlighted by discussing recent examples of their use for monomer synthesis, as polymerization techniques, and for postpolymerization modification, as well as their suitability for architecture control, sequence control, and sequence definition.

Olefin Cross-Metathesis in Polymer and Polysaccharide Chemistry: A Review

Olefin cross-metathesis, a ruthenium-catalyzed carbon-carbon double bond transformation that features high selectivity, reactivity, and tolerance of various functional groups, has been extensively applied in organic synthesis and polymer chemistry. Herein, we review strategies for performing selective cross-metathesis and its applications in polymer and polysaccharide chemistry, including constructing complex polymer architectures, attaching pendant groups to polymer backbones and surfaces, and modifying polysaccharide derivatives.

Olefin cross metathesis and ring-closing metathesis in polymer chemistry

The use of olefin cross metathesis in preparing functional polymers, through either pre-functionalisation of monomers or post-polymerisation functionalisation is growing in both scope and breadth, as discussed in this review article.

High-throughput polymer screening in microreactors: boosting the Passerini three component reaction

The Passerini three-component reaction (Passerini-3CR) has been studied via on-line microreactor/electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (MRT/ESI-MS) reaction monitoring to demonstrate the high-throughput screening potential of microreactors for macromolecular design.

Multicomponent Copolycondensates via the Simultaneous Hantzsch and Biginelli Reactions

The tricomponent Biginelli reaction and the tetracomponent Hantzsch reaction which share the same reaction modules (aldehyde and β-ketone ester) have been found compatible. Therefore, a series of copolycondensates containing both 1,4-dihydropyridine (1,4-DHP) and 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one (3,4-DHPM) in the main chains via the simultaneous Hantzsch and Biginelli reactions have been facilely synthesized. The ratio of 1,4-DHP and 3,4-DHPM in the polymer congeners could be easily tuned by changing the feeding ratio of reactants, and the thermal properties of the obtained polymers are thereby adjusted. As the first attempt to prepare copolycondensate through the combination of two multicomponent reactions (MCRs), the current method revealed and utilized the interesting compatibility between MCRs, providing a new strategy to prepare multicomponent functional polymers.

A palladium-catalysed multicomponent coupling approach to conjugated poly(1,3-dipoles) and polyheterocycles

Conjugated polymers have emerged over the past several decades as key components for a range of applications, including semiconductors, molecular wires, sensors, light switchable transistors and OLEDs. Nevertheless, the construction of many such polymers, especially highly substituted variants, typically involves a multistep synthesis. This can limit the ability to both access and tune polymer structures for desired properties. Here we show an alternative approach to synthesize conjugated materials: a metal-catalysed multicomponent polymerization. This reaction assembles multiple monomer units into a new polymer containing reactive 1,3-dipoles, which can be modified using cycloaddition reactions. In addition to the synthetic ease of this approach, its modularity allows easy adaptation to incorporate a range of desired substituents, all via one-pot reactions.

The requirement for multistep synthesis can render the fabrication of highly substituted polymers particularly troublesome. Here, the authors take advantage of metal-catalysed multicomponent polymerization to synthesize a large family of such materials with ease from single-pot reactions.

Enhanced reactivity of dendrons in the Passerini three-component reaction

An unexpected substituent effect that accelerates Passerini reactions in THF has enabled the synthesis of three generations of dendrimers.

Dual side chain control in the synthesis of novel sequence-defined oligomers through the Ugi four-component reaction

The synthesis of sequence-defined oligomers by the iterative application of the modular Ugi four-component reaction (U-4CR) and the efficient thiol–ene addition reaction is described.

Multicomponent synthesis of novel hybrid PHQ-fatty acids

Multicomponent reactions as methods for green synthesis are important pathways for obtaining pharmacological compounds.

Imparting functional variety to cellulose ethers via olefin cross-metathesis

Olefin cross-metathesis (CM) was applied to impart functional variety to a series of cellulose ether derivatives.

AlCl3-catalyzed O-alkylative Passerini reaction of isocyanides, cinnamaldehydes and various aliphatic alcohols for accessing α-alkoxy-β,γ-enamides

The inexpensive Lewis acid AlCl₃ was found to be an efficient catalyst for the O-alkylative Passerini reaction of isocyanides, cinnamaldehydes and alcohols.

Combination of Orthogonal ABB and ABC Multicomponent Reactions toward Efficient Divergent Synthesis of Dendrimers with Structural Diversity

Synthesis of dendrimers has been directed toward process efficiency and structural diversity. We report a divergent approach to the preparation of dendrimers with both ABC and ABB branching structures from nonbranching monomers by combination of efficient orthogonal ABC Passerini multicomponent reaction (MCR) and ABB thiol-yne MCR. Two kinds of dendrimers were synthesized efficiently: (1) dendrimers with two generations in three steps and (2) dendrimers with two generations containing one kind of internal functional group and two kinds of surface functional groups in five steps. This new synthetic method offers an efficient access to dendrimers with structural diversity.